Walk Along a Spiral
by Princess-Meru
Summary: When a muggle appears on Hogwarts grounds, the Headmistress knows she has to call in a favor. She sends Malfoy to get Harry from the muggle world and together they have to stop the magic from disappearing before it runs out updated on Monday.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Walk Along a Spiral

Author: Princess-Meru

Chapter Title: Chapter 1 – A Nasty Wake Up Call

Beta: Nimeneth

Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.

Author's Note: I can't believe how long I have put this off. Oh well, it's here and I feel better. I have more time now, seeing as it is summer and I have nothing better to do. I'm looking for beta's and constructive criticism. No "this sucks but I'm not gonna tell you whyyyyy." Don't be Peeves the Poltergeist.

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Harry Potter was the kind of person who woke up very slowly, save when he had nightmares. He wiggled in his bed for a little bit, allowing his skin to absorb the first rays of sun. Heavily lidded eyelashes fluttered open to reveal half-hidden green eyes, dull with sleep. Wild black hair was shifting against his maroon pillow, and one small, slightly rough hand reached to pull the feather-stuffed headrest closer to his face. The boy was content.

That is, he was content until a tall, chestnut-haired man came in and began yelling, "Move it!"

"Iba wabba," Harry mumbled into his pillow.

The man sat down next to Harry and glared at him with brown eyes "Sorry, I don't do pillow talk," and to prove his point, yanked the pillow right out of the shorter man's grasp.

That woke Harry up, and he proceeded in punching at the man beside him "Cut it out, you dolt."

"Only on the day you decide to show up to classes on time and not wake up like a girl," the man winked and walked to the door.

Harry squirmed and clenched his gold and maroon sheets in his fists "Hey Joni…?" he whispered. The man turned around. "Thanks."

"No problem, now come on. I made breakfast this morning."

It had been three months since the end of his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Three whole months since he had seen his friends: Three months since he had severed all ties with the wizarding world.

Harry had decided that there was nothing left for him in that place. After the final battle with Voldemorte, his friends were too busy getting over their own losses to bother with the bother with The Boy Who Lived. Anyone who didn't know him personally either hated him because they were somehow involved with the Death-eaters or loved him for killing the Dark Lord. There was no one left to comfort him. Even at graduation, all the seats in the audience were filled with someone else's proud parents, and there were empty seats where the families of his classmates should have been.

The Boy Who Lived could remember very little of the actual battle that took away what little he had left. He remembered the fire, and crashing, the flashes, the screams, and the smell. Blood reeked in his nostrils, even before he entered the battlefield. Everything else was a blur, and the next thing Harry knew, he was sitting in the hospital wing with little idea of how he got there.

He made a deal with Professor McGonagall soon after he was released from Madame Pomfrey's care. He was to leave the wizarding world, move in to muggle London, and create a new life for himself. No witch or wizard was to ever bother him again.

But there was a catch. In every deal, no matter how good it seems, there is always a catch.

Harry entered the lecture hall and sat down beside Joni, and smiled at him. Joni returned the gesture with an affectionate wave and then turned his head to the front of the room where the Professor was sitting.

Professor Dorfman was a very strange man. He was only a bit taller than Flickwich with a scrunched up nose and lots of beard. He was slightly chubby, which didn't make him make him appear any taller. He also had a very deep voice, and when Harry had stood outside his classroom on the first day during one of his long speeches, he imagined him as a twenty-foot relation to Hagrid.

His classmates who all seemed to be looking in his direction and laughing interrupted the raven-haired boy from his analysis of his teacher. When he realized they were not looking at him, he looked next to him and saw that Joni had fallen off his chair and was writhing on the floor.

"Now Mr. Robinson, although I appreciate your impression of a dead man, that was not what I had been asking for," Dorfman tapped his foot on the wooden floor.

Joni sat up "Oh no sir, I was just imitating an inch worm."

"An inch worm with a seizure perhaps," mumbled Harry.

"What I had _asked _for, _Jonathan_, was for you to read the next line in the book for us while expressing the emotions with your voice," the little man sighed, "Mr. Potter, would you care to continue, seeing as your friend seems to be lacking all common sense."

He opened his book, The Merchant of Venice, and began to read one of Shylock's many speeches. For some reason, he could relate to Shylock. Even though the old man was selfish and greedy, he was also mistreated and misunderstood. As he read the lines, he did his best to ignore the widening eyes of his fellow students. When the line finished, he sat back down and endured the fake sobs that Joni whispered into his ear.

Shylock had entered a deal with Antonio and only wanted his fair share. Money was his trade; it wasn't his fault that Antonio got the bad end of the deal. He was arguing with one of the Christians, trying to prove that he was equal to any one of them, and in such event, had the right to revenge as well.

What did Harry have the right to?

Joni took up the part of Antonio, which had originally been Harry's part. The brown haired boy had expressed his hate for Shylock on the first night after they had begun reading the book. Harry and Joni had been sitting in their apartment, Harry skimming and Joni glaring at the words spanned out on the page. "Shylock is a real jerk." Joni had said.

"Yes, well, someone has to be," Harry responded, hardly caring.

Joni folded his arms "But why the Jew?" he repositioned himself on the floor and growled at the book "It's always the Jews who look bad."

"Too bad, so sad," Harry mumbled, too caught up in pitying Antonio, "Why do you care anyway? He's a jerk, who cares about religion?"

"Because," Joni whispered, "It's part of being in a community, you stand up for your people and they stand up for you in turn."

Harry shut the book and put it back on his bed "But what if the community just depends on you?"

Joni didn't have anything to say to that, just as if at this moment in time he didn't have anything to say for Antonio. The topic had moved to whether Antonio was a blinded fool or a kindhearted gentleman. Joni just sat there and twiddled his thumbs.

Harry raised his hand and answered, "It depends on the person. Some people think one thing while others will think another. That's what is so bloody brilliant about this play, it will define a person."

"Very good, Mr. Potter." Harry nodded and sat down, returning to his pattern of staring at his desk and contemplating things hardly on topic "Now if you will all turn to page one hundred and thirteen, we can continue… Why, hello. Are you a new student?"

"Hardly," a deep and fluid voice spat out, "I'm here for Potter."

When Harry locked his emerald eyes with the silver ones by the door, the hairs on the back of his tanned neck began to rise. McGonagall's words echoed in his head as he analyzed the intruder from the top of his perfect blond hair to his expensive shoes. "I will only allow this if you agree to return to us when we summon you during a state of emergency."

"Perfect," Harry said as he stood up and gathered his things, "They sent Malfoy."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Walk Along a Spiral

Author: Princess-Meru

Chapter Title: Chapter 2 – Welcome Home

Beta: Nimeneth

Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.

Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't put this up on the scheduled date (Monday) but it was Labor Day and my task masters decided to control my weekend from head to toe. Alrighty, who's excited for the next chapter? I know I am. Now, here's the deal, oh loverly readers, if you want this to show up on a regular basis, it will, but I need reviews. I'm not going to post for readers who aren't there (actually I will). Anyway, I need a beta who will take all the chapters I have posted and will post and Britainize them. I don't know what sounds English and what doesn't, so I'll leave that to someone who does.

---

"Malfoy," Harry said as he stood up from his seat.

The blond nodded. "Potter."

Jonathan leaned over and looked up at his roommate "You know this guy?"

The raven-haired boy began to gather his things, sighing as he looked at his textbooks. "Unfortunately, he and I were classmates in the same school." He wanted to make Malfoy go away; to throw his desk at the brat and hex him. The Potter luck never failed to disappoint him.

He stomped down the stairs of the lecture hall and marched out of the room. Malfoy followed silently and shut the door behind him. The silver-eyed boy could hardly be called a boy any more. He had grown to be six foot two, towering over Harry who was only five foot five. The Boy Who Lived did his best to restrain himself from pulling at his rival's collar and cut him down a few inches.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry crossed his arms and look up at him.

Malfoy emitted a dry laugh. "The old bat sent me, what else?" The raven-haired boy sat down on the ground, "Don't get comfortable Potter, we're leaving in a few minutes." Harry mumbled something "What was that?"

"Why did they have to send you? I already have enough to deal with; I don't need you around to add to my troubles." Harry stood up and walked back in to the lecture hall, tailed closely by Malfoy.

"You think I like this?" Malfoy shouted, making heads turn toward the pair. He grabbed Harry's wrist and forced him to twirl around and face the blond, "You made a deal, now pay up."

Harry yanked his wrist back "If I throw a stick, will you go away?"

"Maybe, if it's your wand."

"Hey mate, are you shagging him?" Joni said, leaning forward.

Harry tensed up and glared at his friend. "Not funny, Joni," he turned towards Malfoy "Where will we be going?"

Malfoy shrugged "School, did you expect any other place?"

"No," he sighed and walked over past the blond and towards his teacher. "I'm sorry Professor for disrupting your class."

"Of course," the teacher tried to remain calm, but everyone could see he was a bit shaken "Goodbye."

"Riiiiight," Malfoy spat "Loni, Macaroni, Baloney…. whatever your name is!" Joni glared at Malfoy "Please drop off Potter's notes!"

"Yes, sir," Joni saluted.

"What the hell are you doing, you damn mug…OW!" Harry grabbed Malfoy's ear and dragged him out of the door before Malfoy could say anything incriminating.

"Come on, McGonagall is waiting."

Professor McGonagall smiled warmly at Harry, relaxing towards her former student. The years hadn't been kind to those who had been in the war, and McGonagall had given up trying to hide the creases of worry that were growing on her face. She had also become empathetic towards her students, especially the ones who had stood by her during the dark ages of Voldemort. The will to fight the troublesome students had drained out of her, and although she still believed in the enforcement of rules, the wisdom that Dumbledore once carried had placed a bit of itself within the new headmaster.

The paintings of the headmasters now had a new addition, and a bearded man with half-moon glasses waved at the guests from within a frame. Malfoy shifted uncomfortably under the old man's gaze. He would never escape the ghosts of the war, especially the headmaster's.

"Welcome back Mr. Potter. Thank you Mr. Malfoy. Would you both take a seat? I believe there's something we need to discuss," she pulled out a little jar and opened it "Lemon drop? Albus truly loved them."

"Yes, yes," the picture nodded slowly, the painted eyes twinkling.

Harry waved his hands. "No thank you, Professor."

"Minerva. I'm hardly your professor anymore. Would you like one, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy scrunched his nose and shook his head.

"I believe you have two questions to answer," Harry said and sat down on a pillowed chair "What I'm doing here and why you sent this git to get me."

Minerva smiled, beaming the nostalgia of their rivalry "I thought it would be best that Mr. Malfoy be the first person from our world that you see."

Harry crossed his arms and sank into his chair "And why would that be? He hardly makes a good first impression."

"I resent that," Malfoy said as he stuck up his nose "the Malfoy line holds the best social skills."

"Tell that to my Shakespearian lit class, I'm sure they would disagree. You have made them think that I'm not only bloody mad, but that I'm shagging someone who is just as mad!" Harry yelled.

"Stop acting like a girl, Potty. I don't care what your little friends think, but if you'd rather bend under peer pressure, that's your decision. You're acting like Fawkes over here, grooming your feathers as though it's all that matters." Malfoy pretended to brush his hair and he batted his eyelashes.

"At least I hold to my promises. I'm not a weasel like you."

"Phoenixes may look pretty, but weasels don't get hit by planes."

"No, they get hit by cars and put in cages."

"And phoenixes don't?"

"Gentlemen…"

"You know what, Malfoy? You're just like those Barbies with fake smiles and no personality."

"What in bloody hell is a Barbie?

"GENTLEMEN!" Harry and Malfoy stared at McGonagall, wide eyed in shock.

Harry straightened his shirt and returned his thoughts to the professor. The woman was now beet read and breathing heavily, looking like she did on the night when Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Malfoy had been caught sneaking around the school during their first year.

"Good, now, Mr. Potter, I expect you're curious as to why I called you here." Harry nodded. "Well, here is the problem." McGonagall snapped her fingers and the office door flashed. "Follow me." The professor walked out the door the boys allowed. Harry looked at Malfoy, trying to see if the blond was even slightly nervous. "Mr. Malfoy was already briefed, Potter."

"Where are we going?" the raven haired boy asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Potter?" Malfoy's voice cut through the hallway, which was exceedingly different from the main hallways of Hogwarts, "I thought this place was yours and your friend's secret club-house."

"We're not…"

"The Chamber of Secrets, yes Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, continuing her stride down the hall "It was renovated after the war to house the homeless and orphans." She pushed open a large set of doors with snakes engraved on them, and they entered a large room.

If it was renovated, the changes weren't noticeable. The walls were dryer and the plumbing had improved, but the rooms were still cold and rats could be heard squeaking in the distance. Mattresses, pillows, and sheets were strewn across the floor. Children were crowded together, poking at a stone that they swore was wiggling. Families were sitting in a circle, mothers spelling away bruises from their children.

"Why are they being held in this dump?" Harry said.

Malfoy sniffed. "What did you expect? These people's lives were taken from them. Who's going to take in a small village? Three months isn't enough time to create a manor for the masses."

"But you're wizards!" Harry yelled.

"Magic can only do so much, especially with the wards on this school. Only a headmaster or a descendant of the founders can change the layout of the entire building and the chambers can only be changed magically by Slytherin's heir," Malfoy spat back "Since the Dark Lord is dead, no one can make room down here."

"But McGonagall can alter the some other wing of the school," Harry protested.

"Oh, I wish I could Mr. Potter," McGonagall said. "But in case you forgot during your sabbatical, magical energy is like physical energy, you can only use so much in one day. It can be dangerous to a person's health. If I were to use my magic to get through the locks on this school's structure and add on a rather large wing with enough personal room for every being, then, at my age, I would surely kill myself and destroy the school in the process." McGonagall's voice lowered "Although, with the problem at hand, I highly doubt my destruction of the school would be a problem."

Harry and Malfoy were led into a side room that was under lock and spell. Inside was a room that looked like a muggle apartment. There was a man sitting on a couch, staring at a television with a smug look on his face. He had a bushy mustache, thick neck, and had muscle masked under layers of fat.

Malfoy nearly gasped when he saw Harry emerald eyes widen in fear. The raven-haired boy began to hyperventilate and shake. The blond ran over to help Harry remain standing "What the bloody hell is going on here?"

McGonagall sighed and looked sadly towards the two of them. "I'm afraid that this is bad luck in more ways than one. I assumed that Harry's reaction would be a bit more pleasant. This is Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley…. Perhaps we should have this conversation back in my office."

Minerva had led them back to her office, leaving Vernon as they found him "Please help Mr. Potter calm down."

Harry was on the verge of collapsing, which was scaring Malfoy just a little. He had never seen Harry like this before. He was about to put his hand on the shorter boy's back, but had it waved away. "I'm fine." His emerald eyes fixed on Minerva's. "Just tell me what the hell he's doing here?"

Minerva nodded. "Let me just get my pensive." She pulled the pensive out of a closet and placed it on the desk. A familiar sensation fell over Harry as he and the two others in the room were sucked into the memory.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Walk Along a Spiral

Author: Princess-Meru

Chapter Title: Chapter 3 – Moving In

Beta: Nimeneth

Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.

Author's Note: Originally, I had intended on making Draco Dumbledore's killer, but what with the whole Half Blood Prince thingy, that TOTALLY isn't possible unless I do an AU pre-HBP. Ah well, I'll work something in. This chapter is hard to do, simply because I'm bad at doing natural explanations. Now, you should know thatI'm getting behind in my writing and soon I will be trying to cram in a chapter a week. If I don't get the reviews, I wont keep up the motivation of a regular schedule. Super thanks to Nimeneth, who between working on this and Necessary Affections and Vicarious Life at my command, has somehow managed to stay patient enough to still talk to me and be my friend. Everyone give her a big thank you.

---

The first thing Harry noticed once he had gotten his bearings was that he hadn't moved an inch. He was still standing in the office, the pensive was on the desk, and McGonnogal was in front of them. The only difference was that there were shrieks coming from behind him.

He and Malfoy turned around to see two Ravenclaw girls running into the room, gasping for breath. "Professor! Professor!" Oh, so this McGonnagal wasn't the memory one. Someone who looked like her identical twin came running down the stairs, nearly as breathless as the children. She certainly was not as young as she used to be. "Professor, there's a muggle by the greenhouses!"

"Tell Professor Longbottom to bring him here." This muggle was obviously Vernon Dursley. What puzzled him was how a muggle, no matter how vicious and fat, was able to break through the wards.

Moments later Uncle Vernon stomped into the room, amazingly squeezing his enormous frame through the door frame. He sneered at his surroundings, which was to be expected from such a square adult. McGonnogal motion for Uncle Vernon to sit down, but the fat man just glared and remained where he was.

"I'll need your name," McGonnogal conjured a quill.

"Vernon Dursley." His mustache twitched in a way that made Harry choke.

"Now I understand that there has been a bit of confusion," the memory McGonnogal began "But this can be righted immediately."

"This is that freak wizard's school, isn't it? The one that retched boy went to." Vernon yelled, turning beet red.

She nodded. "You must mean Harry. Yes, that is the problem. You shouldn't be able to see the castle, let alone enter it. We will look into the matter, but in the mean time, we will need you to stay here for a few days until we can call someone in who can hear your testimony. However those protection spells slipped, they seem to have righted themselves."

"You can't keep me here! I have a family!"

"I promise, you won't even remember being here. You're family will be taken care of, I swear on my life." McGonnogal shuffled some papers.

The present day McGonnogal put a hand on the two boys' shoulders "Time to go."

Harry and Malfoy felt themselves being sucked up and blinking. Harry realized that his dear uncle was no longer in the room. He would never get used to the idea of a pensive, no matter how many times he used one. He collapsed against his chair, much to the amusement of Malfoy. "What's wrong, Potty?" Malfoy sneered.

"Shut up," Harry leaned back in the chair "So Prof-um, Minerva, did you find out how my uncle got in?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did." Minerva sat down in her very big chair, and Malfoy followed suit. "The magic is running out."

"But that's not possible!" Harry shouted "Magic is individual!"

"Control is individual, which is why the Imperius curse was invented," Draco spat. "You should have paid attention to history of magic, Binns had the right idea."

"Oh sure, you focused as well as I did," Harry rebutted.

"The point is, magic is linked. Once a magic is released, it is sewn into the threads of life. No one knows the details," he sighed. "Which makes our job all the more difficult."

"To the point," the Professor interjected. "You two will have to work together to figure out why the magic is wearing off. If the magic on this school runs out, then there will be no telling how bad things will get. We don't know about the other schools, but I'll owl them immediately. Now, here are the details…"

"What?" Joni jumped on Harry's back, knocking him over.

Harry sighed. "Yes, I'm going on vacation."

"With that blond bloke of yours?" The taller man let go and went to go grab a suitcase "I thought I was your one and only."

"Yes, well…" Harry winked. "The sex is better with him. Hostility brings out the best in bed buddies."

"So he's that Malfoy guy from your old school?" Joni took a pile of pants from Harry and dropped them into the suitcase.

"Yup," Harry said as he picked up a shirt and folded it. "I'll be staying at his house during the vacation. Luckily, he lives in a mansion so I'll probably get a wing to myself."

Joni laughed. "Then you wont have to run into him."

Harry tossed the shirt into to his room-mate "You betcha. Thanks for helping me pack."

"What are friends for?"

Malfoy ordered one of the house elves to grab Harry's things. "Show Potter to his room, Tilly."

"Right away, Master," the house elf sqeeked, lifting with ease the bag that Harry had packed and wiggling inside the oversized pillowcase.

"Don't tell me that's all you have," Malfoy eyed the case.

Harry smirked. In truth, that was it. That, and the rucksack on his back carrying his school books. His wand was in his back pocket, despite Moody's age old warning of losing a piece of buttock. He would risk it. "I'm afraid so." He then turned to follow Tilly, who was skipping forward, and every now and then shivering with excitement.

She walked up a big flight of stairs, then another, and then into a large gilded hallway. At the end of it were two rooms and Tilly opened the one on the left. Inside was the most beautiful room that Harry had ever seen. On the left was a large oak four poster bed. In front of him was a deck that looked out onto a very big garden. On the right was a book shelf, drawers, and a door.

"Umm… Tilly, where does that door lead?" Harry whispered.

Tilly blushed "Why, the young master's bedroom."

"Oh." And then Harry realized, "Ooooooooh," this was the mistress's bedroom.

There was a cough. Harry whipped around to come face to face with Malfoy "When you're done ogling -yes, I know this I the nicest room you've ever had the chance to look upon- I want you to meet me in the dining room. It's on the first floor next to the statue of my family."

"Yes master," Harry bowed, imitating a house elf.

A few minutes later after Harry had refused Tilly's help and unceremoniously thrown his suitcase into a drawer, he made his way down the stairs. It wasn't very hard to find his way, there were paintings of the ancient Malfoys who were kind enough to point the way. When he came to the family portrait, he did his best to ignore the sneer he received from Lucius' painted face and entered the hall.

Although the dining hall was more of a grand hall, considering the fact the room looked as though it could seat two hundered. It appeared greater because only Malfoy was sitting at the elongated table. Harry blushed "Where should I sit?"

Malfoy waved his wand and the table instantly became a lot shorter, and was just the right size for the two of them. Harry pulled out a seat across from Malfoy and plopped down with very little eloquence. "Ah, I see you learned your manners," Malfoy sneered.

Harry snorted. "Around you? Who needs them?"

"If you're going to be living in this house," Malfoy unfolded the napkin on his right and placed it lightly in his lap, "then you will treat me with respect."

Harry copied his actions. "I didn't choose to live here, and you certainly can't throw me out since McGonnogal ordered us to stay together."

"Yes, but I can make you live in the cupboard under one of the smaller staircases," Malfoy smirked at the shorter man, expecting to get some form of protest, but Harry only shrugged.

When dinner materialized onto their plates (naturally with salad first), Harry realized something that both McGonnogal and Malfoy overlooked "We're going to have to get rid of the elves."

Malfoy looked as though he was having a heart attack. "WHAT?"

"Yes. You have to learn to live without magic. If the magic runs out before we can find the source of the trouble, then we're going to have to work without it," Harry sighed and leaned forward, propping his head up with his fist. "But I know a big bad wizard like you will be just fine without your powers. Come on, where is that egotistical macho attitude?"

"We'll be done before then," Malfoy snapped, "and then you can go back to your barbaric lifestyle."

"We have to prepare for worst case scenarios," Harry grumbled, "and in this case, that means learning to function without magic. If the magic runs out, all of the wizarding world will have to learn to blend in with the muggles. Magical properties within the magical creatures will be non-existant. In the end, if we mess up, which knowing our compatability, we probably will, then we will have to go to the muggles for help."

Malfoy rolled his eyes "Are you finished?"

"Yes."

"Well then, here's my say. We are going to work together whether you like it or not. Neither of us want the magical community to vanish, so we're going to bite our tongues and work together until we solve this."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Walk Along a Spiral

Author: Princess-Meru

Chapter Title: Chapter 4 – Learning To Deal

Beta: Nimeneth

Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.

Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the lack of posting. I had to go to a funeral yesterday so I'm a little out of it. I'll continue posting though. no worries.

---

Although Harry and Malfoy tried, dropping old rivalries was proving to be more difficult than Harry had imagined. The next morning Harry woke up to find Malfoy leaning over him, his hand in the shape of a fist. Later, when Harry tried to order the house elves to move into a separate wing (with a kitchen of course) and to stop working, they refused to do so without Malfoy's orders, and Harry had to hold a wand to Malfoy's head, causing the elves to riot.

"You were asking for it," the blond said, grinning from ear to ear.

Harry held an ice pack to his eye. "Shut up, Malfoy."

Malfoy laughed. "I can heal that for you."

"No magic," Harry mumbled as he moved it to his lip "You really need to get rid of them."

"Then who will cook and clean for me?" Malfoy said in a whining tone.

"I'll cook and clean, and we can hire a maid," Harry grimaced as the cold touched his neck.

"Let me help you." Malfoy leaned forward, and Harry inched back. "The muggle way." The blond leaned over, took a bandage, the ice pack, and the Neosporin. "When you say that you want to hire a maid, you mean a witch, right?"

"No, a muggle. That way we'll be a bit more careful about magic," Harry grumbled.

"Lift your arm," Malfoy waved a bandage "Don't give me that look, just lift it. I'll let you clean our wing and cook, under the supervision of a house elf on the first day. The house elves will live in the rest of the mansion, and will maintain it in our absence. Is that okay with you?" Harry nodded meekly. "Good boy, all done."

"Um…" Harry inspected the bandages.

"I didn't poison them. Be a good boy while I go to work. Tilly!" the little house elf appeared. "I want you to instruct Potty in the ways of cleaning. Give him a tour of the east wing and do what he says until I return. Make sure he cleans everything properly."

"Yes, master. Come along, Master Potty."

"Hold it," Harry turned around and faced Malfoy "What exactly do you do for a living?"

Malfoy winked, which made Harry sick. "Wouldn't you like to know?" There was a loud crack and Malfoy was gone.

Harry peaked around the corner of the stairs when he heard the crack of an apparition and giggled. He hadn't been this excited since he had won the house cup for the first time. "Harry." Tilly tugged on Harry's shirt. "Master Draco will not like this."

"Sh," Harry held a finger to his lips "He's here."

Harry discovered right away that Malfoy had snuck a healing spell into his bandages, so he was feeling very little remorse for the clean up job he had done. He was sure that the first thing that Malfoy would notice is that he wouldn't be able to apparate into the house. The second thing would probably be that the coat rack wouldn't be eager to take his coat. The raven-haired boy bit down on his lip in antici-

"POTTER! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HOUSE?"

Harry stepped out from behind the stairs and held out a hand. "Hello Mr. Malfoy, may I take your coat?"

"What… have… you… done…?"

"De-magiced the house." Harry pretended to file his nails "I meant what I said."

"And so did I!" Malfoy pinned him against the wall. "You had a real problem with following rules, but I thought you had sorted that out. This is my house, and you are my guest."

"No, I'm your roommate," Harry laughed nervously.

"No, you're a guest, because if you were permanently living with me, I wouldn't hesitate to hex you into next Tuesday," as he was saying this, his face was inching closer and closer to his rival's until all Harry could see was silver.

"Damnit Malfoy!" Harry pushed the blond off him "We're not getting anywhere by doing this. I kept the magic on the paintings, so you'll if the magic does wear off. Now stop being such a pain in the arse."

Malfoy jerked and recomposed himself. "First my house elves-"

"But I'm working in their place!" Harry interjected.

"Then my magic..."

"I'll put in electricity. You'd never know the difference."

Malfoy looked like he was about to yell again, but he just inhaled and walked away.

"Harry, I don't think Master Draco liked it."

"I don't think so either." Harry plopped down on the ground "What should I do?"

"Harry Potter is asking Tilly for advice?"

Harry gave Tilly a weak smile. "Yea. What do you do when Malfoy gets mad at you?"

"Usually Tilly will punish herself, and then Tilly will work very hard to receive more orders from Master." She gripped at the edge of her pillowcase nervously.

"How about something more sensible?" Harry sighed and walked towards the kitchen.

Although Harry wasn't happy with Malfoy, Harry himself was definitely at a fault. Although he hated to admit it, Malfoy was housing him out of what little good will the ex-death eater had. Harry never heard officially from the ministry about what had happened to the boy, only that he had disappeared halfway through the year, only to become Hogwarts' errand boy at graduation. Now Malfoy was being ordered to house his most hated rival, which he was sure Malfoy protested with all his might. The best way to prove that everything would work out was to finish the work.

"Hey Tilly, where is the kitchen?"

Harry carried out a serving platter, nose in the air, ignoring the fact that he was wearing a frilly smock and his face was covered in ingredients. He put down the platter on the shortened table and then sat down across from Malfoy. He could tell that Malfoy was trying extremely hard not to laugh at him.

The Boy Who Lived sighed. "You go ahead and start eating."

"It's not poisoned?" Malfoy sniffed at the tray, not lifting the lid.

Harry smirked. "I was tempted, but Tilly hounded me through the kitchen." He began tapping his feet. He just wished this were over.

"At least I know she follows instructions." Malfoy lifted the lid "This looks…."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," Harry blurted out "It was wrong of me to assume that I could just renovate your house like that. It's your space and I let my anger get in the way of my responsibilities as your guest…"

"Room mate," Malfoy interrupted.

Emerald eyes met silver ones. "What?"

"Room mate." A small smile interrupted Malfoy's sarcastic face. "You and I are angry, temporary, blood lusting room mates." Harry emitted a dry laugh. "And until we find out what in bloody hell is wrong with our world, we're stuck with each other, so let's start over." He shoved out a hand "I'm Draco Malfoy, and once you've wiped your hands on the napkin, I can shake your hand and learn your name."

Harry laughed, rubbed the napkin around his hands until they appeared clean, and then thrust his hand into Malfoy's "I'm Harry Potter, and that food must look really good for you to be so happy."

"Yeah, you'd make a great house elf." Malfoy winked.

Harry laughed. "I'll settle for a maid."

"You're hired."

"Hey, Malfoy, do I get paid?"

"No, but we get to talk on a first name basis." The blond winked again, and Harry realized that this might be tolerable.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Walk Along a Spiral

Author: Princess-Meru

Chapter Title: Chapter 5 – Getting Somewhere

Beta: Nimeneth

Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character, location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved in getting Harry Potter around the world.

Author's Note: I think I'm going to switch to updating on Tuesdays. It makes my life easier. Anyway, I would really like more reviews. I'm at the end of the line here, and I will definetly begin to skip weeks if I don't get more feedback soon. ANYWAY! Enjoy!

---

Harry curled up in his new bed, trying to adjust to the funny thoughts

crawling through his brain. After many tears and cries for their master, the house elves had finally stopped protesting and had moved with much mourning into the guesthouse down at the other end of the grounds. Shrill voices struck through his head shouting "Master Draco will die without his stuffed dragon and five snacks before dinner."

Oh yes, Master Draco would certainly die, but it would have nothing to do with childhood toys. Harry had full reign of the kitchen, which meant poisons galore were at his fingertips. If the idiot were to mistreat him in the slightest, the blond would find his food mysteriously coming to life in his stomach and eating its way out.

It was now late afternoon, and Malfoy had yet to come home. Harry's thoughts slowly came undone as he drifted into lazy doze. What did Malfoy do? When would it be his turn to cook? Sure, he was the maid, but that was only because he had nothing better to do. They really should be doing research as opposed to living like a couple in an

arranged marriage. Was this an arranged marriage in disguise? Can wizards even get married? Maybe this was a whole conspiracy against him to make him suffer in the worst possible way before killing him.

The grandfather clock down the hall called out five chimes. "Well," Harry mumbled to himself, sitting up "Time to make dinner."

Truth be told, he was not in the mood to be cooking, but it was all he had to entertain himself. He marched down the stairs and into the kitchen, almost entirely on automatic pilot. Scanning the room carefully, he slowly realized that he might have to make a dish that Malfoy may not eat due to muggle contamination. Pulling a mysterious

box from his bag, he thought of the only thing he could do: Bisquick it.

"What the hell is that wonderful smell?" Malfoy asked, marching into the kitchen.

Harry smiled, but knew better than to answer. He had only had a half an hour to make some semblance of a meal. He shifted closer to a cabinet to his left, hoping Malfoy wouldn't know what was hidden behind the small door.

"Harry." The Boy Who Lived saw Malfoy twitch as he said his first name "I have a few leads, so after we eat, you and I are going to have some bonding time in the library."

This brightened the boy up. "Really? So then we might actually be getting somewhere?"

Malfoy sighed. "I didn't say that. What I meant was..." he began opening drawers, looking for a snack, "that there's somewhere to start. We can't go forward if we haven't taken the first step."

"I guess you're right." Harry nodded and walked over to the newly transfigured refrigerator to grab some cheese. "But where is there to start? The magic is just... wearing off..."

"Well, we start with records. We have..." Malfoy immediately froze, staring at a very white, very muggle smelling box. "Bizkick?"

"Bisquick," Harry muttered, grabbing the box.

Malfoy sighed. "I figured you were going to kill me, but I didn't think it would be this soon."

"Coming from the person who, on my first morning here, was getting ready to punch me while I was sleeping?" Harry crossed his arms.

Malfoy blushed. "We put that behind us, didn't we?"

"No, not really." Harry turned off the oven. "Dinner's ready."

Malfoy placed a large book in Harry's arms. "This," he said proudly, "is a list of every witch or wizard that is giving off magical signals. It's called..."

"The Book of Avalon."

"How did you..." Malfoy started, but then stopped. "Oh..."

Harry sighed. "Yeah..."

"Granger?"

"Hermione..."

"Yeah..." they said together.

There was an awkward silence, which Malfoy broke. "So why was she talking about it?"

"She was doing research the bloody thing," Harry mumbled. "Something about needing to know wizarding order."

Malfoy sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. "This is the second time I've seen it."

"Second?" Harry nearly fell over in shock. "But it's nearly impossible to get a glimpse at the cover, let alone take it home! How could this be your second time?"

"You really don't remember anything about the mechanics of the final battle, do you?" Draco shifted guiltily in his seat. "I read up on your records. It must have been the post-traumatic stress, but the doctors said that you could only remember as far as getting out the door. Well... there was more than just fighting."

"Why the hell did you read that?" Harry shouted "It was supposed to be confidential!"

"Granger and I spent hours in the safe house, scanning through this god forsaken book, keeping an eye on every thing that was out on the field... who was dying... who was injured."

"Stop it! I don't want to hear this!"

"When Ron..."

"SHUT UP!" Harry collapsed into the ground and began bawling. "Shut up shut up shut up."

Malfoy stared wide-eyed for a moment, but then knelt beside Harry and placed a soothing hand on his back. "There there. We don't have to talk about this now. Just breathe..."

Harry's breathing began to calm and leaned against Malfoy. "There you go..." Malfoy whispered in his ear. "Now why don't we get you to bed and we'll talk about this more tomorrow night."

Harry shook his head. "No."

"No?" Malfoy leaned back, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Why did you bring that book?"

"Well you see..." Malfoy said "Dumbledore said something very interesting to me once; that all power was linked. Well, think of this book like the junction. Dumbledore was the one in charge of this book, so I think that if we take a close look at it, maybe we'll find a hole around Dumbledore and be able to patch it up. Is that what you wanted

to hear?"

"Yes," Harry said, visibly relaxing in Malfoy's embrace.

"Okay. Will you go to bed now?" Malfoy whispered.

"Mhmmm," Harry mumbled.

Malfoy carefully placed an arm below Harry's knees and scooped the smaller boy up. "Then off to bed we go."

The last thing Harry thought before falling asleep in Draco's arms was how much he smelled like spices. Almost like Snape's potions cabinet or the hospital wing.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Walk Along a Spiral  
Author: Princess-Meru  
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 - It's spreading  
Beta: Nimeneth  
Disclaimer: The original story is by J.K. Rowling. All character,  
location, and spell rights belong to her and all publishers involved  
in getting Harry Potter around the world.  
Author's Note: I'm afraid I don't know how well I did after my beta went through it. A lot needs fixing with me and my bad writing. Anyway, I'm hoping to get somewhere in the next few chapters, but what with NaNoWriMo, I don't know how much I'll be able to write.

---

Harry stretched in his bed the next morning, reveling in the feeling of total peace. He had the most wonderful dream, even though he couldn't remember it, and held on to the smile that he had woken up with. He held his hand above his head, watching as he twirled it around the rays of light streaming through the window. He could sense the characteristics of morning when he closed his eyes. The clean feeling of new air, the relaxed muscles after a good night's rest, the lazy feeling his eyes took when he shut them, the smell of...

Smoke?

"SHIT!" Harry bolted upright, and ignoring the fact that he was still wearing his pajamas, ran out the door and down the stairs "MALFOY! MALFOY! FIRE!"

He ran around, checking the different rooms. Nothing in the study. Nothing in the library. He followed the scent of ash until he saw a smoke trail along the ceiling, which led into the kitchen. His heart stopped in his chest.

There was Malfoy, hands covered in burns and blood, and beside him something that would have looked like waffles if it wasn't up in flames. Malfoy was trying to put out the fire with his hands, but to no avail. Not only were his hands getting thoroughly cooked, but they seemed to have been cut by knives from previous chopping.

"Malfoy! You dope!" Harry picked up some pot-holders that were by the over, picked up their "breakfast" and dumped it unceremoniously into the sink. He turned on the cold water and once the fire was out, took a pot, filled it with cold water, and dragged it next to Malfoy. He then went to grab a towel and sat beside the blond and the pot. "Put your hands in here." Harry pointed at the pot and then dipped the towel in the water and proceeded to clean the blood off Malfoy "What were you thinking?"

The taller man blushed "I thought I would let you sleep in and make breakfast myself. You were so upset yesterday I figured you needed a lie in."

"Do you even know how to cook?" Harry asked, his voice dripping the sarcasm.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "You're asking that after this mess? I thought since it was so easy for you, it would be easy for me too."

Harry sighed. "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I've been working in a kitchen since I was old enough to hold a pan. You on the other hand, have had little creatures half your size do it for you since you had enough brains to command them to."

"I'm sorry." Malfoy stared at the ground, unable to think of anything else to say.

This made Harry laugh. "Don't be sorry, Malfoy. You had good intentions and that matters more than the results. Means can't justify ends, but it can make the ends more understandable. Just be more- BLOODY HELL! I think we're going to need to take you to St. Mungo's."

Malfoy stared in absolute shock and then laughed. "No, I'll be fine. These are only first degree burns and the cuts would need to be much deeper for me to need stitches. A bandage should do just fine."

"Are you sure?" Harry looked him in the eye, just to be sure he wasn't lying.

Malfoy nodded. "Positive."

Harry then sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go get some bandages and then we can have a nice happy breakfast."

"Sounds good," Malfoy replied as he slowly pushed himself to his feet "You know, I hate to say it but..."

"What?" Harry turned around.

He smirked "If it hadn't been for you putting up the anti-magic wards, I wouldn't have been burnt and we would already be eating."

Harry yawned and stomped to the closet to get an apron.

---

"I'm going to work, dear," Malfoy shouted from around the corner. Harry was curled up in the study, paging leisurely through a book about wizarding history. Harry responded with a half hearted wave and then turned the page. He then began reading out loud.

"Merlin was the first wizard to ever exist on the planet. The second was the esteemed Morgan Le Fay, who rumor had it was Merlin's lover at some point in time. When Merlin came into his power, he immediately started carrying a rather large book around with him. He would never let it go and refused to let anyone besides himself look at it. The day he died he passed this book on to his apprentice, who kept it secret for many years, until the first wizard's government was formed in 1283. Since then it has been under high security in palaces, museums, and ministries. After the Dark Wizard Grindewald was defeated, Albus Dumbl-" Harry stopped, and stared very carefully at the text, willing himself not to mourn over the man once more, "Albus Dumbledore insisted that the book be kept under severe lock and key, saying that Grindewald had wanted to use the book to his advantage, and if that were to happen, then the entire wizarding world would be in severe jeopardy.

"This book, titled the Book of Avalon, is rumored to contain immense power. Many wizards have tried to get their hands on it, but the wards around the book are so strong that now only certain people are allowed to come within five feet of it, and even less to touch it."

Dumbledore had probably set up these wards, and if the power was fading, then that would explain why Draco had brought the book home. Harry knew so little about the book that the secrets that it held would mean much more to a mouse than to him. He placed the history book down on a nearby desk and got up. He needed to get out of the house. He picked up one of Malfoy's many wallets and decided he would go grocery shopping.

Harry had hoped that once he spent the hour getting off Malfoy grounds (which entailed finding his way and walking the mile and a half to the gates) he had hoped to find a market. Instead it was nothing but a long dirt road to nowhere. He would have found it if he had looked at a map before he left. The location of the manor was definitely going to be a topic at dinner tonight.

He pulled out his wand and apparated to the first wizard's community which came to mind: Diagon Alley, but when he arrived, he thought he was in the wrong place.

Too many Auror uniforms.

He tapped a nearby man on the shoulder and nearly had a heart attack when he saw that it was Seamus Finnegan. Seamus had changed since Harry had last seen him; which had been chained to a St. Mungo's bed screaming bloody murder.

"Harry!" Seamus's scarred face contorted into what Harry thought might have been a smile. It was hard to tell, since the right half of Seamus's face had been burned. The wave of his right arm showed that his right limbs were in the same condition.

"Hello, Seamus," Harry replied, trying to muster up a bit of breath.

The Irishman realized that Harry was staring at his wounds and laughed. "The price of being a half blood. I wear it proudly."

Harry was going to ask Seamus what he was talking about, but then remembered the reason he had confronted him in the first place . "What's going on here?"

Seamus shrugged. "Some of the older wards are wearing off around here. They've called in the high level Aurors to set up new ones, but they'll only be temporary until we can find a powerful wizard to do it. Dumbledore was the last one to check the wards and update them, and I doubt we'll find any wizard as powerful as him lying about."

"Here too?" Harry stared towards the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron "This is happening at Hogwarts as well."

"So I've heard. They've got Minerva dealing with that one by herself. Right state she's in."

"Listen, Seamus..." Harry lowered his voice "I'm one of two people investigating this. Do you know anything about where we might be able to start?"

"If I knew I'd be on the case with you," Seamus emitted a hearty laugh. "But I'll owl you if I hear anything."

Harry bowed slightly. "Thank you. I'd best get my shopping done; I'm playing maid while moonlighting as a detective and a uni student."

Seamus whistled. "We're all gonna have to be university students if you don't get this wrapped up. I don't think we'd be able to assimilate."

"Neither do I."

---

"Malfoy?" Harry mumbled while they were scanning history books in the library.

"Yes?" Malfoy looked up from 'History of Magic: The Less Boring Edition'.

The smaller man squirmed a little . "I went to Diagon Alley today. The wards are shutting down there as well."

"I know," the blond muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Harry's voice was barely above a whisper.

Malfoy slammed his book shut. "What do you care? When this is all over you'll just go back to your bloody boyfriend in bloody muggle land and leave us all to rot! That's what you did last time!"

"I-"

"Just up and left your friends and your home and your home and your life! You never stopped to help clean up the mess! And you think this is penance? IT'S NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT I SUFFERED AFTER YOU LEFT!"

"Please lis-"

"NO! I WON'T LISTEN! JUST BECAUSE DUMBLEDORE ISN'T HERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE THE BLOODY GOLDEN BOY DOESN'T MEAN YOU AREN'T ANYONE'S HERO ANYMORE! JUST BECAUSE NO ONE TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU AREN'T OBLIGATED TO..." His voice faded off and he took deep breaths.

"I don't think you understand..."

Malfoy collected his books. "No, but we all would have understood if you had just faced us, instead of running away. Goodnight." And with that, Draco picked up his stuff and stormed to his room.


End file.
